It’s the easiest thing in the world to find a good reason not to go to the gym or go for a run, even when your shape and weight clearly say that you need to be doing regular exercise. One of the best ways to get and crucially stay, motivated is to work with a personal trainer.

No longer the preserve of Hollywood stars; personal trainers are very much an established part of the fitness industry and the key to success for many clients.

Whether it’s a post-Christmas tummy, a pre summer holiday tone up or just a general need to get fit and healthy, motivation is one of the most important factors in starting and maintaining a successful fitness regime.

Exercise is no different from any other discipline, one-to-one tuition is nearly always going to be the best way to help you achieve the best results.

Sometimes the obvious physical need to shed some pounds and improve fitness levels just isn’t enough on its own to provide the incentive to head to the gym or out for a run two or three times a week. Alternatively you may have got stuck in a bit of a rut and stopped making any real progress towards your goals. Working with a personal trainer can help in lots of different ways.

Firstly, using their expertise your personal trainer can work with you to create a fitness program that tackles all the issues you want to sort out and set you clear and realistic goals for achieving them.

Whether it’s a program at the gym, or running round the park, your trainer is with you every step of the way to provide you with the encouragement to ensure you complete the sessions. If you feel like stepping off the cross trainer a bit too soon, or finishing your run early, then having someone to encourage you to keep going is likely to mean the difference between giving up and continuing to the end.

Working with a personal trainer means you are in good hands as they will be able to ensure you are working with equipment effectively and safely, or using the correct technique for your running and floor-based exercises and stretches.   They will also be able to judge when it’s right to push you onto the next level therefore helping you to increase your strength, stamina and fitness, while toning up and losing weight. They will also keep your program interesting so you don’t get bored with the same activities.

Of course it isn’t just about cardiovascular exercise, diet is important too and your trainer can advise on the best foods to eat to give you an all-round approach to achieving the best results.

Another good motivating factor is money. Putting it bluntly, if you know you’ve booked and paid for a personal trainer it can make all the difference between deciding to stay at home or getting your trainers on and getting active. No one likes to waste his or her hard-earned cash, so paying in advance for a course of sessions can be a real incentive to turning up for every meeting and ensuring you stay on track and maintain your health and fitness or weight loss program.

For Rowlett Fit Body Boot Camp and HallMark Bodies readers who workout, do you think it’s worthwhile to spend money on a personal trainer or not? Give us your comments, please.